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International Women’s Day: WMO works towards Planet 50-50

International Women’s Day: WMO works towards Planet 50-50

8

Published

8 March 2017

On the occasion of International Women’s Day, WMO Secretary-General Petteri Taalas has launched a WMO-wide campaign to promote good practice on how to mainstream gender into organizational policies and practices; how to attract girls and women into Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM), and how to make weather and climate services more gender-sensitive.

“The implementation of the WMO Gender Action Plan has demonstrated that small adaptations to working practices can result in big leaps forward. Let us jump towards gender equality even further in 2017,” said Mr Taalas in a message to WMO Secretariat staff.

“We will achieve 50/50 before 2030 if gender champions speak ”she for she and he for she”, until the gap is no more,” said WMO Deputy Secretary-General Elena Manaenkova, who chaired an award ceremony for the advancement of gender equality and women’s empowerment in the field of environment.

WMO strives to advance gender equality at all levels: global, regional, national and the Secretariat. Thanks to a strong Gender Equality Policy and a comprehensive Gender Action Plan, gender equality is now a standing agenda item at WMO constituent body meetings. Even so, female representation still has not reached the desired levels in all WMO structures.

As a result of two Women’s Leadership Workshops, 55 senior female managers and scientists have been identified and received targeted training.

“It is not a coincidence that capacity development is a major component of the WMO Gender Action Plan. It is key to attracting more girls into science, strengthening the capacity of female professionals, and promoting female role models in our community,” said Mr Taalas.

“Gender equality is also very relevant to our core business of service delivery. The provision of gender-sensitive weather and climate services constitutes WMO’s contribution to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals,” he said.

Mr Taalas announced a new system of recognition for Secretariat staff who have made significant contribution to advancing gender equality in WMO.